比べる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 比べる, read くらべる, is a verb for examining similarities or differences between things.
• Basic usage: It is used to compare weights or appearances at different times.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Things compared
  • 二つのかばんの重さを比べる compares the weights of two bags.
  • In 去年の写真と比べて, と marks last year's photograph as the comparison point.
• Inflection
  • The te-form is 比べて.